Algeria plans solar power cable to Germany-
14 Nov 2007 ALGIERS, Nov 14 (Reuters) -" An Algerian company is planning to build a power cable to Germany to export solar-generated electricity from the Sahara, a state-owned newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Tewfik Hasni, chief executive of New Energy Algeria (NEAL), said the 3,000 km (1,875 mile) cable would be laid from the Algerian town of Adrar to the German city of Aachen under a project provisionally entitled "Clean Power From The Desert", El Moudhaid daily reported..........

The cable's route would take it across the Mediterranean to the island of Sardinia, mainland Italy, Switzerland and Germany.

The project would be carried out in partnership with a consortium of investors including Algerian state energy giant Sonatrach, Africa's second-largest country,

Algeria is 4-1/2 times the size of France and most of its 33 million population live on the northern coastal strip. Its desert south is baked by the sun.
For decades an important gas and oil exporter to Europe,

Algeria started planning in recent years to add solar to its portfolio of energy exports to Europe...........

......the power for the project would initially come from hybrid solar-gas plants but longer term would eventually come from solar-only ventures...................As solar technology improves, Hasni plans to establish pure solar generation plants without the need for gas and gradually expand solar power's capacity.....".

source: http://www.antinuclearaustralia.com/